"The X Factor" gave her the boot two weeks ago, but Jennel Garcia proved she's still a hit in SouthCoast on Sunday when more than 100 friends, family and former dance teammates packed a welcome home bash for the Rochester rocker.

FREETOWN — "The X Factor" gave her the boot two weeks ago, but Jennel Garcia proved she's still a hit in SouthCoast on Sunday when more than 100 friends, family and former dance teammates packed a welcome home bash for the Rochester rocker at the Middleboro Road VFW.

"I'm glad I'm coming back home with a lot of support," Garcia, 18, said before adding that her loss on the hit Fox reality show "happened for a reason."

Music remains her passion and she returned to the recording studio last Friday, Garcia said.

"The X Factor," in its second season on Fox, combines undiscovered talent, superstar judges and a $5 million recording contract with Syco/Sony Music for the winner to create a nationwide search for next year's big act. The show features judges Britney Spears and Demi Lovato along with Simon Cowell — of "American Idol" fame — and L.A. Reid.

Friends and family made sure there were plenty of hugs to go around as Garcia, unaware of the party until she pulled up to the VFW with her sister, walked through the door.

"I was very disappointed. ... She deserved to be there more than anyone else," said Alexis Cabrao, 15, who met Garcia as a fellow student at Christine's Studio of Performing Arts in Acushnet.

Others expressed shock that Garcia lost as quickly as she did, especially after a stronger-than-usual performance the night before her elimination and unanimous praise from the judges shortly before the polls opened.

"People were calling us (after the elimination) ... asking us 'Is this a hoax?'" said Garcia's father, Will Garcia. "The producers even told us that they didn't see it coming."

But while many were disappointed she lost, all said they were positive America would see more of the teen rocker who was catapulted onto the national stage last summer.

Garcia first floored the judges back in May with a fiery performance of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals' "Paris (Oh la la)" that even managed to squeeze a smile out of the notoriously sharp Cowell during the show's Providence auditions.

Judges continued seeing talent in Garcia and after they whittled the contestant pool down to the top 13, she remained in the running as the live episodes kicked off. The live shows, taped in Los Angeles, pit the top contestants against each other with viewers' votes deciding who wins the show's top prize.

Two eliminations later, however, and Garcia was singing for her life against contestant Paige Thomas, with both of them in the vote count's bottom-two, meaning they had to sing off and let the judges settle their fate.

A 3-1 vote sent Garcia home, throwing her into a hotel for that night and leaving her with a little more than an hour to pack the next day before being shuffled off to the airport and back to Rochester.

For now, anyways.

The Acushnet native, New Bedford High School graduate and Rochester resident said she's staying focused on making music and getting back out among her fans.

Asked if she would have done anything differently now that she has the benefit of hindsight, Garcia said that she didn't want to think of "what ifs" and that, win or lose, the show was an "amazing experience."

The show also allowed Garcia to build up a fan base, with 236,211 Twitter followers keeping tabs on her as of Sunday night. The fans, combined with a newfound inspiration to write more music, has kept Garcia persevering in the aftermath of her loss, she said.

"My goal was, and is, to get rock music back out there," Garcia said. "There are no women putting rock on the radio right now. There's a great future ahead for me."